Animal ID Vote Record

Below is how the members of the Texas House of Representatives voted on the Animal ID bill, HB 2311. This bill authorizes the state agency to adopt animal ID requirements that are no more stringent than the federal ones. While that may sound good, there is a significant problem — the federal rules only apply interstate, so this bill allows the agency to adopt those same standards and make them apply to every movement within the state, which is far more burdensome on small farmers and animal owners. The bill also provides open-ended authority for the state agency to adopt any future federal regulations.

Representatives who voted FOR the bill

Below is a list of the Representatives who voted YES on HB 2311, the Animal ID bill, who need to be held accountable for ignoring their constituents’ concerns. If your Representative is on this list, please send them an email expressing your outrage. Insert their name into this formula to get their email address: Firstname.Lastname@ house.state.tx.us (take out the extra space between @ house)

Farm Bureau and Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers were two of the primary supporters of the Animal ID bill. If you are a member of either group and disagree with their position on this bill, mention that in your email so that your Representative knows that the groups did not speak for all of their members.

Representatives who voted against Animal ID

The Representatives who voted NO on HB 2311 deserves a thank you for standing up for their constituents against immense pressure from industry groups and the leadership of the House:

Special thanks go to:

Representative Bryan Hughes, for introducing an amendment to limit the scope of the bill. His articulate arguments would have won the day if anyone was applying logic to the issue. He presented the amendment knowing that it would be a difficult fight and willing to take the heat to support the small farmers in his district and across the state.

Representatives Bill Callegari and Larry Phillips, for speaking up during the debate against the bill and to support Hughes’ amendment.

Representative David Simpson, for objecting to having the second vote on the same day. The Constitution requires that there be two separate votes on two separate days, which gives the legislators a chance to consider whether their first vote might have been in error. By suspending the rules and holding the second vote within minutes of the first, the House leadership deprived us on the opportunity to talk to Representatives about their mistake.

April 28, 2013

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